People are often attached to the magic 8-hour number when it comes to sleep needs. In reality, there are individual differences in how much sleep each person needs – some folks are 9-hour sleepers, others are 6-hour sleepers – and some are another number entirely.
In fact, trying to get 8 hours of sleep when our body needs less than that amount can lead to insomnia symptoms. This is because we end up overspending time in bed, which can stretch out our sleep and make it lighter. For example, if we spend 9 hours in bed but only sleep for 6 hours, it’s kind of like making a pizza with a large pan but only having a small amount of dough. If you try to stretch the dough into the large pan, it becomes thin and little rips start to form. As you can see, spending extra time in bed is doing to your sleep artificially creates insomnia!
At the end of the day, your sleep needs are totally your own and there is no magic number.
Changes in sleep during older adulthood
As we get older, there are some consistent changes that we see in our sleep. First, we typically see that there is usually a change in our ‘circadian rhythm,’ and we become more early birds. For example, we might have used to prefer sleeping at midnight as teenagers, but then we start feeling sleepy closer to 10:00pm when we get older.
Besides changes in circadian rhythm, older adults may also start sleeping a little less in terms of their duration and get less deep sleep. There are a few possible reasons for this change. First, unlike when we were young, we are no longer growing as much physically in older age. We can still grow in other ways during our twilight years (like learning new languages!) but we aren’t going through the same growth spurt as when we were teenagers. Therefore, we may need less recovery sleep.
A second possibility is that older folks tend to reduce activities because of medical conditions, like chronic pain and heart issues, or because of retirement. The reduction of activities can reduce our build-up of sleep appetite that can reduce how much deep sleep we get.
Recommendations for best sleep practices in older adults
First, I would encourage you to follow your body’s rhythms. If you’re noticing that you are a bit more of an early bird, I would encourage you to go to bed at a time when you are sleepy and wake up when your internal clock starts sending sleepy signals. For some older adults, this might mean going to bed at 10:00pm and waking up closer to 5 or 6am even if they used to sleep and wake up a little later. I wouldn’t go to bed too early though – unless you want to wake up super early. if you’re having trouble staying awake, I would encourage some enjoyable light activities
Examples can be:
- Listen to music
- Work on a puzzle
- Read a book
- Watch a TV show
- Play solitaire
Next, I encourage folks to stick to a fairly regular bed and rise time even if you are retired. This can help to keep our rhythm regular and reduce feelings of jet lag, which can happen if we have a variable schedule.
Because older folks tend to get slightly less slow wave sleep (the sleep that makes us feel refreshed), it is often helpful to get out of bed when we do not need to sleep anymore and continue engaging in physical activity that is enjoyable and meaningful. For example, going on walks or hikes, engaging in sports, or yoga – whatever you enjoy.
Summary
Sleep certainly changes throughout our lifespan. We may never sleep like we did when we were teenagers. However, we can roll with these changes and continue with best practices to keep our sleep as healthy as possible!
Best wishes,
P
Simply mental health 